M1
The 5-Layer Framework
Free. The full framework these checklists make operational. Compression / anticipatory / trigger / target / session — every checklist above implements at least one layer.
Operational reference · Free
The 5-layer framework lives at the trade level. Funded accounts add a layer above that — account-state discipline. Six operational checklists derived from running multiple Topstep funded accounts: pre-session briefing, pre-trade check, daily action plan, post-session scorecard, hard guardrails, incident triage. Copy-paste-ready, framework-aligned, free.
Companion to "Why most funded futures traders fail — the three traps". That article explains what the trailing-drawdown / consistency-rule / sizing traps do. This page hands you the operational templates that survive them.
Why these specifically
A funded account isn't a personal account with bigger size. The trailing-drawdown floor changes the math on every trade. The consistency rule changes how you trade after a winning day. The buying-power-vs-floor distinction changes how you size after losses. These six checklists translate the 5-layer framework into the account-state-aware version that funded traders need.
Checklist 1 of 6 · ~5 min before market open
Run before any new entry of the session. Sets the day's risk mode, sizing tier, and session-window plan. Without this, the first trade of the day inherits whatever mood you walked in with — which is the most common path into the spiral.
Open the account. Note exact dollars between current equity and the trailing drawdown floor. Write it down. This is the day's hard ceiling on cumulative loss before account closure. Day's daily-loss limit (if firm enforces one) is the secondary ceiling.
Output: "Headroom: $X above floor. Daily-loss limit: $Y."
Per the 3-tier discrete sizing model: 1x base, 2x B-grade, 3x A-grade. Drawdown-aware adjustment: if you're below 50% of starting headroom (you've already given back half your room), drop one tier across the board. Below 25% headroom: base only.
Output: "Today's tiers: Base 1mc / B-grade 2mc / A-grade 3mc" (or reduced).
What's the day's expected highest-edge instrument? FOMC day → ES/NQ first. War-news premium → CL. Quiet macro → whatever your strongest read is. The framework grades whatever instrument you trade — but you trade the framework better in instruments where the day's edge is actually present.
Output: "In-play today: ES (FOMC) and CL (energy premium). NQ secondary. Avoid: GC (chop expected)."
Pre-commit to the minimum framework grade you'll take today. Default: B+ or better. After a loss: A only. After two losses: day is over (no more entries).
Output: "Today's minimum grade: B+ until first loss; then A only; then stop after 2 losses."
Layer 5 of the framework caps grade at C+ for entries during the 3-5pm PT dead zone. Pre-commit your session windows: which hours you'll initiate new trades, which hours you'll only manage existing positions. Default: live RTH cash hours + post-Asia open.
Output: "New entries: 6:30am-1pm PT (RTH) and 5pm-9pm PT (post-Asia). Held positions ride through; no initiation in dead zone."
Numeric self-rating 1-5 of focus / fatigue / pressure. Below 3 (poor sleep, distracted, money pressure) → drop one sizing tier across the board, or skip the session. The Edgewonk Tiltmeter principle, applied honestly. The framework can't grade your emotional state; you have to.
Output: "Focus 4 / Fatigue 3 / Pressure 2. Today's adjustment: none (above threshold)."
Checklist 2 of 6 · ~30 sec per entry
Run on every entry. The 30-second discipline that catches the trades that look good but break a rule you set this morning.
Layer 1 compression precondition: ✓/✗. Layer 2 anticipatory positioning: ✓/✗. Layer 3 paint+range trigger: ✓/✗. Layer 4 HTF target declared: ✓/✗. Layer 5 inside session window: ✓/✗. Count the ✓'s. Five = A. Four = B+. Three = C+. Less = pass.
Pre-session minimum was B+ (or A if post-loss). Does this trade meet that? If no, pass — even if "this one feels different." The pre-commit IS the framework working. Override against it requires explicit log entry (see Module 8: Override Capture).
A-grade = 3mc. B-grade = 2mc. Base = 1mc. Adjusted for drawdown headroom (per pre-session). DO NOT size up for "conviction" mid-session — conviction without framework grade is exactly what the spiral runs on. The math: each loss reduces remaining headroom; same dollar risk = bigger % of remaining room.
Initial stop placement past the structural invalidation level (last swing, key wick zone, prior-period level — see JalenLabels). Per Module 2 (Stop-Loss Discipline): stop-distance must match instrument noise, not desired R. Wide stops beat tight stops in noisy futures.
Dollar risk on this trade ≤ 33% of remaining drawdown headroom. If a third consecutive loss at this size would breach the floor, the size is too big. Reduce or pass. Default safe: dollar risk ≤ 20% of remaining headroom — preserves room for the next session if today fails.
Layer 4: HTF structural label OR 2-3R cap (2-3× the dollar amount risked per trade). Pre-declared at entry, not "I'll see how it develops." Climactic range expansion at the target = exit signal, not continuation. Without a pre-declared exit, you have a trade with no plan — which is how trailing drawdown silently advances on unrealized winners.
Checklist 3 of 6 · ~3 min, midday
Mid-session reset. Re-checks where the day stands and what the next bounded action is. Run after each completed trade or once per session window transition.
Net P&L vs daily-loss limit. Trades taken vs 3-shots-a-day cap. Highest-conviction setup taken vs missed. The honest read of the day's quality so far — not the wished version.
One sentence describing the next allowed action. Examples: "Wait for ES compression coil resolution at the 1pm PT cash close." Or: "Day is over — two losses, no more entries." Or: "Held position rides through dead zone; no new initiation until 5pm PT Asia open."
Have I taken a revenge entry? Forced a trade against framework grade? Sized up after a loss? Re-entered the same setup repeatedly? If any yes, the day is over. Capture the override in override capture for next-week analysis.
If your firm has a consistency rule and you've already had a big day this period, today's trades should be SMALLER not larger. The consistency rule reverses normal "press the win" psychology. Pacing means smaller and more sessions, not chasing one bigger session to dilute later.
Checklist 4 of 6 · ~5 min after session close
The end-of-day debrief that compounds into actual improvement. Without the scorecard, every session is a one-off. With it, patterns surface within weeks.
Count. Symbol. Side. Entry. Exit. R captured. Framework grade at entry vs framework grade in retrospect. Did the trades fire all 5 layers, or did you take some C+ trades?
What % of the day's trades met the pre-session framework-grade pre-commit? Above 90% = clean session. 70-90% = drift. Below 70% = the framework is being graded but not respected. Below 50% = stand-down day for tomorrow (no new entries until you've reviewed the spiral pattern).
Which of the 5 layers got violated most often today? Layer 5 (session discipline) is the most common pressure point — dead-zone entries that feel justified in the moment. Layer 4 (HTF target) is second — entries without pre-declared exits. Track which layer is YOUR personal pressure point over a month; that's where the override-capture suggestions will surface.
Equity start of day vs end. Drawdown headroom delta. If you closed below 50% of starting headroom (gave back half your room), tomorrow's pre-session sizing tier drops automatically. The math is unavoidable; making it explicit means you don't trade tomorrow at risk you can't actually carry.
One sentence the day taught you. Could be a rule reinforced ("RTH dead zone really does kill grades — three of today's losses came from 3-5pm entries"). Could be a pattern surfaced ("CL trades that stack with NG trend cross-confirmation are the cleanest"). Could be an override captured ("I overrode the L4 exit on ES today and was right; this is the third time on FOMC day — worth analyzer review at 30").
Checklist 5 of 6 · Configure once, refresh quarterly
Two automated guardrails the firm or your platform may offer. Different defaults for combine vs funded accounts. Get these right BEFORE the moment you actually need them, because the moment you need them is exactly the moment you won't reach for them.
When the account hits a daily-loss limit or the trailing drawdown warning threshold, automatically block new order placement until the next session reset. Recommended default: ON. Reason: the moment you breach a daily-loss limit is the moment you most want to "make it back" — and the moment most likely to compound the loss into account closure. Hard block at the platform level removes the decision from the worst possible decision-making state.
When the account hits the trailing drawdown floor or daily-loss limit, automatically flatten all open positions. Recommended default: OFF unless your broker's automation is fully tested in your specific setup. Reason: auto-flatten can fire at the worst possible execution moment (slippage on illiquid bar) and can't tell the difference between "near floor with structural exit imminent" vs "near floor and going to breach." Manual flatten with practiced muscle memory beats untested auto-flatten in most setups. Re-evaluate after 100+ sessions of platform-tested experience.
Some platforms let you pre-commit a daily loss cap that's tighter than the firm's daily-loss limit. Use it. Set it at the dollar value that corresponds to your "today is over" pre-commit (typically: 2 base-tier losses or 1 max-tier loss). Lock it before the first trade so the platform enforces what your discipline should but might not in the moment.
Firm rule on a $50k account is typically 5 minis. The platform should enforce this hard. Then your personal cap should be tighter for current account state — e.g., 3mc max while the framework is calibrating, scale up over time as compliance score sustains above 90%. Don't trade the firm's cap on day one.
Checklist 6 of 6 · When warnings or breaches fire
When the platform raises a warning or breach signal, what to do in the next 60 seconds. Pre-thought response beats in-the-moment improvisation.
Account warns when day's loss is approaching the daily-loss limit (typical trigger: 75-80% of limit). Action: stop initiating new trades immediately. Hold any in-flight positions only if their structural invalidation is still beyond the daily-loss-limit math. Reduce size on any held position if you can without breaching exit logic. Do not double up to "make it back" — that's the spiral entry point.
Account warns when equity is approaching the trailing drawdown floor (typical trigger: 75-80% of available headroom consumed). Action: same as above — stop initiating, hold only if structural invalidation is beyond the floor, reduce size where possible. Add: do NOT take a "trade to make it back" — the math against you is most lethal when you're closest to the floor.
Account is out for the day. Stop. Don't argue with the account state. Tomorrow's pre-session briefing starts with the new (lower) starting equity and reduced sizing tier. Take the loss. Don't break the firm rule trying to recover the day; firm rules are typically more forgiving than the human pattern of "one more trade to fix it."
Account is closed. Take the lesson, not the resentment. Most account-blow events are NOT one bad trade — they're an unrealized winner that wasn't closed at the peak (floor advanced) followed by a separate later trade that breached the now-elevated floor. Review the post-session scorecard from the day; the killing trade is usually NOT where the leverage was lost. Capture the lesson in journal. Buy the next eval at the firm's current pricing (or pivot firm based on what the post-mortem shows about which structure didn't fit you).
Platform reports stale data, broker disconnect, or sync gap. Action: do NOT assume "safe" — pause new entries until fresh state is confirmed. The stale interval may have moved the floor or hit a daily-loss threshold without your visibility. Resume only when fresh data flows. This is the operational guardrail for "you don't know what you don't know" moments.
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All six checklists in a single markdown file you can print, paste into your trading-station notes, or load into your journal. Free. No email required to download — just the link below. The framework only works if you actually run it; the bundle removes friction.
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